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President Obama's worst week

Lisa Millar
Fri 17 May 2013, 10:55 PM AEST

The U.S. President, Barack Obama, is trying to contain the political fallout from his worst week in office since taking power, after three separate scandals, one of which involved the Federal Tax Agency singling out conservatives for extra scrutiny.

Transcript

EMMA ALBERICI, PRESENTER: The US President is trying to contain the political fallout from his worst week in office since taking power.

Barack Obama is in damage control over three separate scandals. One of which involves the federal tax agency singling out conservatives for extra scrutiny.

North America correspondent Lisa Millar reports from Washington.

LISA MILLAR, REPORTER: Tea Party groups were convinced they were being singled out for special scrutiny by the US tax office.

TODD CEFARATTI, TEAPARTY.NET: The questions got longer and more intrusive into our over three million members, they wanted things like our donor lists, our private emails for the last three years.

LISA MILLAR: For Conservatives that kind of activity is proof of their suspicions about the Obama administration.

RAND PAUL, REPUBLICAN SENATOR: There's something profoundly un-American about targeting your political opponents. Whether you're a Republican or Democrat or and Independent in this country to take the abuse of a $3.8 trillion government, the power of that government and to use it to stifle opposition is profoundly un-American.

LISA MILLAR: The tax crisis is just one of three making for heavy weather.

LISA MILLAR: As the President tries to show he's taking decisive action, two tax officials have been forced to quit.

BARACK OBAMA: I'm outraged by this in part because look I'm a public figure. If a future administration is starting to use the tax laws to favour one party over another or one political view over another, obviously we're all vulnerable.

LISA MILLAR: Barack Obama is also under pressure over how the White House dealt with an attack in Libya last year that killed four Americans. And finally, there are questions about the Justice Department's decision to seize hundreds of phone records from journalists as it tried to hunt down a leak over a story. I make no apologies and don't think the American people would expect me as commander in chief not to be concerned about information that might compromise their missions or might get them killed.

LISA MILLAR: The swirl of controversies has given new life to the Tea Party and the conservatives it backed in Congress.

MIKE LEE, REPUBLICAN SENATOR: These three events that have gotten so much attention over the last few days - IRS, AP, Benghazi - tend to confirm a lot of our worst fears about our government. They tend to tell us what we don't want to believe but that sometimes might be true. That your government is targeting you, that your government is spying on you and that your government is lying to you.

But the President's critics say that's too little, too late. Even his supporters believe every day taken up with these scandals is a day he's not working on his second term agenda. Some have even likened his woes to those of Richard Nixon, a president forced to quit in disgrace.

BARACK OBAMA: You can go ahead and read the history I think and draw your own conclusions.

LISA MILLAR: It is not the kind of comparison the White House would want.